If you need to be convinced of Angelina Jolie’s commitment to a cause, watch her harrowing film about Bosnian war called In the Land of Blood and Honey.

Jolie’s directing debut is based on her first screenplay, but the result is hardly the stuff of a fledgling filmmaker.

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Opening in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver this month, Blood and Honey exposes the conflict that split apart former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, by using a complex love story as a backdrop.

The love in question is between a Serbian man (Goran Kostic) and a Bosnian-Muslim woman (Zana Marjanovic). They have a brief fling before the war erupts, but then he becomes an army officer in charge of a notorious female prison (a rape camp) where she is being held.

Despite the polarizing nature of the Bosnian war, Jolie said she went out of her way to show the impact of the conflict, without bringing in the politics. That’s not surprising, since she was inspired to write the script after her many experiences as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador.

Still, the Oscar-winning actress never expected to make a film from her screenplay, let alone direct and co-produce it. Encouragement from husband Brad Pitt led to her decision.

Nor was it a surprise that the film shoot, more than a year ago, sparked controversy; especially worrying to Jolie were protests from a group of female war victims.

So far, the reaction to the finished product has been positive on all fronts, which Jolie said is a relief.

As it turned out, Jolie’s cast and crew filmed most of Blood and Honey in Bucharest, where Jolie, Pitt, and their six children set up a temporary home.

Besides hiring Serbian and Bosnian actors, Jolie also decided to do two versions of the film simultaneously: one in English and another in the Serbo-Croatian dialect of the region.

For her efforts, The Producers Guild of America will salute her with the 2012 Stanley Kramer Award. Her movie might even be nominated for a best-foreign-language-film Oscar on Jan. 24.

“It really means a lot to me,” confessed the 36-year-old, who discussed her duties as a filmmaker and mother during a recent discussion with Postmedia News.

QDid you anticipate how overwhelming this experience would be?A I didn’t know the extent of it. The hardest thing about this was trying to understand this conflict.

QWhat did you learn about yourself as a director?A I learned that I loved it. But this cast was very special. They lived through this, and this is their history, from all sides of the conflict.

QDid that have an impact?A They shared so much about their lives, many deeply personal stories about what they suffered through.

QWas it difficult for the cast to relive the horrors?A It was emotionally stressful, but very cathartic. There was so much violence in front of the screen that, off camera, there was so much kindness.

QYou shot the movie both in English and in Serbo-Croatian. Why?A It was always something that had to be done [to make it] as authentic as possible.

QWas it difficult doing two movies in one?A It was a bizarre experience. It was a lot to ask of the actors, and yet it somehow taught us more.

QSome of your harshest critics have been won over by the movie’s sensitivity to the victims of the Bosnian war. How does that feel?A It means everything to us; me and the cast.

QDid the early attacks, claiming you were exploiting the war, hurt?A: It was very painful, especially that women would think that I would not honour them properly. As a mother, and someone who loves women, I knew my intentions were good.

QWas your family with you during filming?A I’m never away from my family. Brad (Pitt) and I always take turns working. They came to set often. They went to school in Budapest while we shot this.

QDid that relieve some tension?A Oh, yes. I was smothering them, almost. I was so grateful that they were safe, every time that I came home.

Q Did they enjoy the fact that you were directing for a change?A They were very happy about the lack of hair and makeup. And my set clothes were more ‘mommy.’

In the Land of Blood and Honey opens Jan. 20 in Toronto, Jan. 27 in Montreal & Vancouver; may expand later.

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